236003 HIV Testing in Heatlh Centers

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Lyndsay Patty, MHR , Office of Evaluation and Inspection, Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services, Dallas, TX
Title. HIV Testing in Health Centers Background. In 2006, CDC estimated that 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in the United States and released their revised recommendations for routine HIV testing. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded health centers are critical to successfully reducing the number of new HIV infections because they provide health services to populations that are disproportionately affected by HIV. However, HRSA estimates that only 3.5 percent of patients were tested in health centers in 2007. Methods. We will select a random sample of 350 health center service sites. We will survey health center service site directors regarding their HIV testing practices. Health center medical consent forms, grantee applications, and written HIV testing policies will supplement the surveys. Results. We will determine health centers' HIV testing practices, the extent to which outside recommendations influence health centers' practices and written policies for HIV testing and the extent to which factors, such as State laws, funding, or technical assistance, influence health centers' practices for HIV testing. Conclusion. We will describe HIV testing practices of HRSA funded health centers, and the factors that health centers staff report influence their decisions regarding HIV testing practices. We will give more information regarding why only 3.5 percent of health center patients are tested. We will gauge the extent to which health center HIV testing practices align with the 2006 CDC recommendations for routine HIV testing or if they align with more traditional models of testing.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Describe HIV testing practices of HRSA funded health centers, and the factors that health centers staff report influence their decisions regarding HIV testing practices.

Keywords: Health Centers, HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I am lead analyst on this evaluation project regarding HIV testing in HRSA funded health centers.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: HIV/AIDS Prevention Strategies
See more of: HIV/AIDS